Community Packages 30,000 Meals During Annual MLK. Jr. Day of Service

2/1/2023

On Monday, January 16, more than 300 members of the Calvert community gathered on campus to participate in this year’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Community Service, an annual day of remembrance, reflection, and community engagement. Organized by Director of the Institute for Leadership & Purpose Sarah DeCamps and DEI Director Timika Tyson, the day featured a partnership between Calvert School and the non-profit Rise Against Hunger, which aims to end global hunger.

“Martin Luther King, Jr. talked a lot about freedom and he talked a lot about service, and one of the things that we got to fully experience today was everybody being part of a collective effort to support something that is bigger than themselves,” Ms. DeCamps said.

Over roughly two hours, more than 300 members of the Calvert community, including teachers, parents, alumni, and students of all ages, worked together to fill and package more than 30,000 meals for students in Uganda, helping to feed over 100 students for an entire year.

Organized in an open assembly line, community members worked at four stations set up in the Middle School Gym: filling, weighing, sealing, and boxing.

First, many of our Lower School families assisted by filling bags with a designated amount of rice, soy, flavoring, and vitamin mix before passing the filled bags to members of the weighing team, who ensured that eat bag weighed a necessary amount. At this stage, volunteers added more soy and rice to underweight bags before passing the confirmed bags to members of the sealing team who used heat to seal each package.

Finally, the sealing team compiled finished bags for the boxing team, members of which packed a certain number of bags into boxes to prepare for shipping.

“This was a very important project for us as a community because we spend a lot of time thinking about ‘the why’ and why is it important to give back,” Ms. Tyson said. “We know that we can’t save the world, but with one meal at a time hopefully we can make someone feel a little better and make their day a little better.”

In the coming weeks and months, volunteers will receive updates on these meals as they are shipped to Uganda, where they will learn the full impact of their service.

As well, students will reflect on this year’s MLK, Jr. Day Assembly, which took place on Friday, January 13, and the many speakers and performers who shared Dr. King’s message, including Eighth Grade speaker Julius P. ’23.

Thank you to Ms. DeCamps, Ms. Tyson, Rise Against Hunger, and everyone who volunteered for making this year’s MLK, Jr. Day of Service so impactful.

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